A DESPERATE mother is battling to force surgeons to save her baby's life.

Doctors cancelled a hole in the heart operation on tiny Luke Winston-Jones claiming it was pointless because he had a fatal genetic disorder.

But his distraught mum Ruth, 34, says the op is the three-months-old tot's only hope of survival - and she is taking legal action to demand the surgery goes ahead.

She said: "It can't be right that doctors who are trained to prolong life are not even prepared to try to give Luke a chance."

Ruth - who has won support from Princess Diana's former boyfriend, heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, pictured below - gave birth to Luke six weeks early at a hospital in Bangor, Anglesey.

He weighed just 2lb 7oz and was found to have three holes in his heart. Two of them closed naturally, but he needed surgery on the third to stem blood which will one day flood his lungs.

But the planned op at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool was cancelled after a test revealed he was also suffering from Edwards Syndrome. This is _ a rare chromosome disorder which medics claimed would most likely kill him within weeks or months. However, Ruth and her family began trawling the Internet for information on the syndrome.

And to their amazement, they found children in the US who were living a near normal life.

Ruth's sister Jackie Kirkwood, 41, said: "I found a boy of 15 with Edwards, and he was doing fine.

"I also found a girl of five who had had the same operation that Luke needs. She had a slight disability, but a good quality of life.

"At the moment, nobody can tell us whether Luke will suffer any disability in life. Looking at the signs his condition could be very mild. He is a strong, happy little boy, and deserves a chance."

Ruth, of Holyhead, Anglesey, said: "Luke has defied the doctors ever since he was born. They said he wouldn't survive more than a few hours. Then they said he would never breathe on his own, which he does. They said he would never suck or swallow and yet I am breastfeeding him.

"They claimed he would have no co-ordination, yet he lifts his head and grabs my finger.

"He cries, gurgles, and loves cuddles. And he has a beautiful smile to melt any heart."

Single mum Ruth, who has two other children aged 11 and seven, said Hasnat Khan had told the family there were good medical grounds for doing the heart op.

And he would happily perform it if only there was a baby unit at his hospital, Harefield in Middlesex.

Without that opportunity, Ruth says she is forced to take her fight to the High Court.

She expects to hear if the case will go ahead early this week.

Alder Hey hospital said: "Unfortunately children with Edwards Syndrome very rarely survive for more than a few weeks or months. In addition, baby Luke has a very serious heart condition.

"We did not want to put him through such a major heart operation which would be very traumatic for him.

"The family was advised it was their right to seek opinions from other cardiac centres, although we felt other centres will take a similar view to our own."